Stud wall system and method using a combined bridging and spacing device

ABSTRACT

A stud bridging/spacing member ( 30 ) generally having at least three longitudinally spaced apart notches ( 26 ) for receiving and engaging therein a web of a metal stud. The notches ( 26 ) extend at an incline to the longitudinal axis of the elongated member.

This application is a 371 of PCT/US00/11991 filed Mar. 5, 2000 andclaims benefit to Provisional Nos. 60/132,293 filed May 3, 1999 and No.60/140,640 filed Jun. 23, 1999.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention herein described relates generally to stud wall systemsand more particularly to a device for spacing and bridging studs in astud wall.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Metal studs are used to form walls in building structures today,including load bearing walls such as exterior walls and curtain walls.In a typical installation, the metal studs are secured by screws attheir lower ends to a bottom track secured to a floor, and extend attheir upper ends into a top track secured to overhead joists which mayform the framework for an upper floor. The upper ends of the studsgenerally also are secured to the top track. Exterior wall materialsand/or wall boards or other panels are applied to the sides of the studsto form a closed wall structure.

The load bearing walls are subject to axial loads (compressive loads onthe studs) applied to the studs through the overhead joists, and alsomay be subject to transverse loads (for example, exterior walls may besubject to transverse loads from wind effects) and lateral loads actingin the plane of the wall. These loads may cause flexing (includingbowing, twisting or other deformation of the stud) or turning of themetal studs which may cause the walls to crack or otherwise be flawed ordamaged. In load bearing walls, this problem is structural as well asaesthetic.

Bridging systems heretofore have been used to reinforce the metal studwalls by adding structural support between adjacent studs. Three knownbridging systems include braced channel, welded channel, andblock-and-strap bridging systems.

In the braced channel bridging system, a U-shape channel spans two ormore metal studs, extending through a conduit hole in the web of eachstud. An angled brace is fastened to both the channel and the web of thestud, generally with screws or rivets.

The welded channel bridging system also uses a U-shape channel whichspans two or more metal studs and extends through conduit holes in thewebs of the studs. The channel is then welded to the studs on one orboth sides of the channel.

In the block-and-strap bridging system, sheet metal “blocks” arefastened between adjacent studs through bent tabs at their distal ends.Then a strap is fastened to one or both sides of two or more metal studsas well as to the respective side or sides of the blocks. Thus the studsare interconnected by the blocks between the studs as well as the strapsalong the sides of the studs, and the blocks and straps also areconnected to each other.

The installation of metal stud wall systems, including the reinforcingbridging systems, heretofore has been a time consuming process. In atypical installation where the metal studs are fastened at their upperends to a top track or channel, the attachment positions of the studsare marked off along the top track. Then each stud is fastened to eachflange of the top track by screws. A ladder or a scaffold may berequired if the top track is too high for the installer to reach. If aladder is used, the installer climbs the ladder and fastens as manystuds as he can reach to the near flange of the top track. Then he mustclimb down the ladder, move the ladder along the wall so that when heagain climbs the ladder he can reach the next one or more studs forfastening to the top track. If a scaffold is used, much more time isexpended setting up the scaffold. After doing this along one side of thewall, the process is repeated on the other side of the wall to fastenthe studs to the other flange of the top track.

The metal studs must then be fastened at their lower ends to a bottomtrack or channel. Each stud must be carefully aligned and squared beforebeing fastened to the bottom track. In addition, the bridging membersdescribed above also must be installed to interconnect the metal studsat one or more points between the top and bottom tracks. Because of thetime consuming nature of the installation process, fasteners can bemissed or forgotten. In the welded channel bridging systems, welders andtheir equipment are relatively expensive, and welds also can be missed,or can be improperly formed. Defects in welds can be particularlydifficult to detect.

In addition, once the studs are installed, other trades people, such asplumbers and electricians, may remove the bridging members between twostuds to give them more room to work, running plumbing lines orelectrical lines, for example. If the bridging member is not replaced,the strength of the wall may be reduced.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a stud bridging/spacing member for thequick and easy spacing of a plurality of studs without measuring, whileat the same time providing bridging between the studs. The bridgingfunction of the stud bridging/spacing member reinforces the studs toresist bending under axial loads and to resist rotation under transverseloads, providing a “shear” connection between the bridging/spacingmember and the studs. The stud bridging/spacing member enables asubstantial reduction in the amount of time needed to install a metalstud wall and, in particular, a load bearing wall, while at the sametime functioning effectively to lock each stud against bowing, twistingor turning when subject to axial, transverse and/or lateral loads,thereby providing improved strength and rigidity to the metal stud wall.The invention also provides a metal stud wall including the studbridging/spacing member and a method of assembling a metal stud wallusing the stud bridging/spacing member. The angled slots, or moreaccurately the angled sides thereof, coact with the webs of the studs toinhibit twisting, turning or bowing of the studs when subjected to axialand/or lateral and/or transverse loads. Moreover, as the loads increase,the angled slots more tightly lock with the stud webs by providing the“shear” connecting between the bridging/spacing member and the webs ofthe studs.

According to one aspect of the invention, a stud bridging/spacing memberincludes an elongate member having at least three longitudinally spacedapart notches for receiving and engaging therein a web of a metal stud.The notches extend at an incline to the longitudinal axis of theelongate member to accommodate different gauges of metal studs whilemaintaining on-center spacing of studs when assembled in a stud wall.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the notches extendinwardly at an angle of about two to about fifteen degrees relative to aperpendicular to the longitudinal axis, and more preferably about fiveand a half degrees to about eight degrees, and most preferably aboutseven degrees. The notches have a width of about 0.050 inch (about 0.13cm) to about 0.1 inch (about 0.2 cm), more preferably about 0.065 inch(about 0.16 cm) to about 0.080 inch (about 0.20 cm), and most preferablyabout 0.080 inch (about 0.20 cm). The elongate member is formed offourteen, sixteen or eighteen gauge metal (more preferably steel andmost preferably galvanized steel).

The at least three notches generally extend laterally inwardly fromlaterally outer edges of the elongate member. The elongate member mayinclude a fourth notch equally spaced between at least two of the atleast three notches. Each of the at least three notches in one portionof the elongate member may be laterally aligned with a correspondingnotch in another portion of the elongate member, and/or the laterallyaligned notches may incline in the same direction. The sides of thenotches generally are parallel, and straight.

Further in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, theelongate member has a V-shape lateral cross-section formed bylongitudinally extending planar first and second portions joined atrespective longitudinal edges to form the sides and vertex of theV-shape. The elongate member further may include a pair of wing portionsextending laterally outwardly from respective distal ends of the V-shapeelongate member. The wing portions may extend in opposite directionsfrom the V-shape elongate member, and each wing portion may extend adistance which is approximately one-third the width of the widest partof the V-shape elongate member. The angle of the V is at least about90°, more preferably at least about 120° and most preferably about 130°.A shallow angle increases the transverse stiffness of the elongatemember, although other means may be used for this purpose.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a metal stud wallincludes at least three metal studs each having at least two flangesinterconnected by a web. The web of each stud has an opening, and thestuds are arranged in a row with the openings in the webs thereofaligned with one another. An elongate member as described above extendsthrough the openings of the at least three studs, and the at least threelongitudinally spaced apart notches engage the webs of the studs. Thenotches generally are equally longitudinally spaced apart at apredetermined web to web spacing of the studs. The web to web spacingmay be sixteen inches (about 40.6 cm) or twenty-four inches (about 61.0cm). The metal stud wall typically will include one or more additionalelongate members with adjacent ends overlapping and engaged with respectto a common stud.

In assembling a metal stud wall including a row of metal studs eachhaving at least two flanges interconnected by a web, each stud isfastened at a lower end to a base track. A stud bridging/spacing memberis inserted through aligned openings in at least three metal studs, andlongitudinally spaced apart notches in the stud bridging/spacing memberare engaged with respective webs of the metal studs, therebyestablishing and maintaining a fixed spacing between the metal studs andreinforcing the studs against deflection and turning under loading. Whenthe notches engage the webs of the studs, a portion of the webs of thestuds generally is caused to bend (at least under load conditions) inthe direction of the inclines of the notches to retain the web in theengaged notch. The assembly method may also include securing a top endof each of the studs to a ceiling track.

The foregoing and other features of the invention are hereinafter fullydescribed and particularly pointed out in the claims, the followingdescription and the annexed drawings setting forth in detail certainillustrative embodiments of the invention, these being indicative,however of but a few of the various ways in which the principles of theinvention may be employed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a metal stud wall including a studbridging/spacing member according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an elevational end view of a stud showing the studbridging/spacing member disposed in an opening in a metal stud of thewall.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the stud bridging/spacing member,showing the notch in the bridging/spacing member.

FIG. 4 is an elevational end view of a stud showing the studbridging/spacing member disposed in another type of opening in a metalstud.

FIG. 5 is a top view of the stud bridging/spacing member.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the stud and the stud bridging/spacing member asseen along 6—6 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the stud bridging/spacing member showing onespacing of the notches.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a metal stud wall including another studbridging/spacing member according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an elevational view of a stud showing the studbridging/spacing member of FIG. 8 disposed in an opening in a metal studof the wall.

FIG. 10 is an elevational view of a stud showing the bridging/spacingmember of FIG. 4 disposed in the opening with a bar guard.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 illustrates the skeleton of a metal stud wall 10 according to thepresent invention. The metal stud wall 10 generally comprises a basetrack 12, a plurality of metal studs 14 disposed in a row, at least onebridging/spacing member 16, and wall panels (not shown). The wallpanels, such as wall board, may be secured in a well known manner to oneor both sides of the metal studs to close the wall and to form theexterior surface or surfaces of the wall. Alternatively, one or bothsides of the metal studs may be faced with masonry, such as a brick wallfacing on an exterior side of a curtain wall.

The studs 14, as illustrated in FIG. 1, are generally C-shape, as isconventional. The studs 14 have a web 18 and a pair of L-shape flanges20 perpendicular to the web 18. There is also one or more openings 22 inthe web 18. The openings 22 heretofore have been provided in metal studsto permit bridging members, electrical conduit and/or plumbing to be runwithin the stud wall. Since the openings 22 are located in the sameposition in the individual studs forming the wall as is conventional,the openings 22 are horizontally aligned with each other as shown inFIG. 1. Note that the particular opening 22 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 aregenerally found in nonload-bearing walls.

Although in the illustrated stud wall 10 the stud bridging/spacingmember 16 engages the webs 18 of the studs 14 adjacent the base of theupper rectangular portion of the opening 22, alternatively the studbridging/spacing member 16 may be dimensioned to engage the webs of thestuds adjacent the base of the lower rectangular portion of the opening22. The larger stud bridging/spacing member may provide more resistanceto loading on the studs, however, it also may restrict the ability torun electrical conduit and/or plumbing through the opening 22. Thus,since this type of opening 22 is generally used in nonload-bearing studwalls which are subject to smaller loads, the smaller stud/bridgingmember may be used. However, the stud bridging/spacing member 16 may beused in load bearing stud walls, wherein the studs generally have adifferent type of opening, as hereinbelow is further explained.

In the assembly of the metal stud wall 10, the metal studs 14 aresecured at their lower ends to the base track 12 by fastening means 24,such as screws, rivets, etc. The base track 12 is a U-shape channelhaving a central planar strip with upstanding legs at lateral sidesthereof. The studs forming the wall are secured by the fastening means24 to the upstanding legs of the base track 12 that normally will beanchored to the floor. The metal studs extend into a ceiling track (notshown) which is similar to the base track 12, except that it is securedto (or has secured thereto) overhead joists which may form the frameworkfor an upper floor.

The stud bridging/spacing member 16 is inserted through the openings 22,and a plurality of notches 26 in the stud bridging/spacing member 16 arealigned with the webs 18 of respective studs 14, or vice versa, thenotches 26 being designed to engage and to retain the webs 18 of thestuds 14 therein. The stud bridging/spacing member 16 is turned and ismoved downwardly, as by tapping, to move the webs 18 of the metal studs14 into engagement with the notches 26. In this manner the studbridging/spacing member 16 sets the spacing of the studs 14, thus makingit unnecessary to manually mark off the stud spacing. As a result, onlyone stud need be plumbed and secured to surrounding structure, such asat its top to the ceiling track (not shown). With one stud plumbed andfixed in place, all of the other studs will be spaced and held plumb bythe bridging/spacing member or chain of overlapping bridging/spacingmembers without measuring. In an exterior load bearing wall, generallyeach of the studs also is secured at its upper end to the ceiling track.

The stud bridging/spacing member 16 also functions to rigidly maintainthe metal studs 14 at the prescribed spacing, for example, duringapplication of the wall panels (not shown) to the studs. Although thewall panels once applied also will help maintain the spacing of themetal studs, the stud bridging/spacing member 16 resists relativemovement of the metal studs in the plane of the wall and resists flexingof the studs. In fact, additional bridging/spacing members 16 may beprovided at different heights to further strengthen the metal stud wall10. Openings 22 in the webs of the studs are usually vertically spacedapart approximately four feet on center in load bearing studs, and thusdifferent sets of bridging/spacing members 16 are similarly verticallyspaced.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, each stud bridging/spacing member 16 spans atleast three metal studs 14, although longer bridging/spacing members maybe used, if desired, to span four, five or more studs, or even shorterbridging/spacing members spanning only two studs. When forming a wallsystem having a number of metal studs spaced apart to exceed the lengthof a single stud bridging/spacing member 16, a plurality of studbridging/spacing members 16 are used in an end-to-end relationship withrelatively adjacent ends overlapped and secured to at least one commonstud 14 so as to maintain the continuity of the stud bridging/spacingmembers 16 over the length of the stud wall 10.

Referring now to FIGS. 2-5, one embodiment of stud bridging/spacingmember 16 can be seen to include a bar-like elongate member 30 which isgenerally V-shape in cross-section along its length. The V-shapefunctions to rigidity the elongate member 30 against lateral flexure,i.e., flexure perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of thebridging/spacing member.

The overall length of the stud bridging/spacing member 16 is about fiftyinches (127 cm). The bridging/spacing member 16 is sufficiently narrowin at least one dimension to fit within the dimensions of the openings22 in the webs 18. The type of conduit opening 22 shown in FIG. 2 istypically about one inch (about 2.5 cm) wide in its lower region. Thewidth of the bridging/spacing member 16 is approximately two and onequarter inches (about 5.7 cm) when oriented as shown in FIG. 2 (i.e.,from outer edge to outer edge), and the vertex of the V is about half aninch (about 1.3 cm) from a plane which contains the distal ends of thelegs of the V. Accordingly, the bridging/spacing member 16 generally hasan included angle greater than 90° and less than 180°, and morepreferably has an included angle of about 132°. It has been found thatgenerally a shallower angle (wider space between the distal ends of thelegs) provides more resistance to deflection under lateral loads,whereas a deeper angle (narrower space between the distal ends of thelegs) may provide more resistance to deflection under compression loads(axial loads on the studs 14, see FIG. 1). However, since thebridging/spacing member 16 is more likely to be subject to lateral loadssince the studs 14 (FIG. 1) support the vertical loads axially, ashallower included angle may be used.

The metal which forms the stud bridging/spacing member 16 has athickness ranging, for example, from about twenty gauge (about 0.034inch (about 0.086 cm)) to about fourteen gauge (about 0.071 inch (about0.18 cm)). The stud bridging/spacing member 16 is constructed from aboutsixteen gauge metal, which has a thickness of about 0.058 inch (about0.15 cm). Eighteen gauge metal has a thickness of about 0.045 inch(about 0.11 cm).

The elongate member 30 need not necessarily have a V-shape as shown inFIG. 3. The elongate member 30 alternatively could be generally planarwith one or more bosses running (and overlapping if plural bosses areprovided) the length of the elongate member 30. The boss or bosses(deflected out of the planar portions of the elongate member) wouldserve to rigidity the elongate member 30. Of course, other means may beprovided to rigidity the elongate member 30 against lateral flexure,such as the use of stiffening ribs, a thicker stock, etc. In addition,the stud bridging/spacing member 16 may be used with studs 14 havingopenings 122 as shown in FIG. 4.

Referring to FIG. 3, each planar side portion of the V-shape elongatemember 30 is provided with the plurality of notches 26 which open to thelongitudinal or laterally outer edge 32 of the respective side portion.The notches 26 are formed to a depth from the edge of aboutthree-eighths of an inch (about 0.95 cm). Although the notches 26 areshown disposed along the outer edge 32 of each side portion, the notches26 could be formed elsewhere, although less desirably, such as along thevertex (crease) 40 of the V-shape elongate member 30.

The notches 26 of one side portion are laterally aligned withcorresponding notches of the other side portion. The pairs of laterallyaligned notches 26, as opposed to a single notch, provide two areas ofcontact with the web 18 of a stud 14 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). The two areasof contact enhance the grip of the bridging/spacing member 16 on thewebs 18 of the studs 14 and aid in preventing the studs 14 from pivotingor twisting, thus adding greater stability to the wall 10 (see FIG. 1).

Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 5, each notch 26 is formed by a slot 38inclined relative to the longitudinal axis of the stud bridging/spacingmember 16, wherein the angle and the width of the slot 38 cooperate tobind the webs 18 of the studs 14 in the notches 26 (see FIG. 1). Theslot 38 has a width of about 0.065 inch (about 0.16 cm) to about 0.080inch (about 0.20 cm), and is angled about five and a half degrees toabout eight degrees relative to a perpendicular 60 to the longitudinalaxis of the bridging/spacing member 16. More preferably, the slot 38 isangled about seven degrees and has a width of about 0.080 inch (about0.20 cm). The slot 38 generally has parallel sides that are straight.However, other configurations are contemplated. For example, the slot 38may have curved parallel sides.

The stud bridging/spacing member 16 is made of eighteen to fourteengauge metal. The width and angle provide notches 26 which have beenfound to fit twenty gauge studs 14 (FIG. 1), to fit eighteen gauge studs14 with a slight bind, and to fit sixteen gauge studs 14 tightly, whichmay cause the webs 18 (FIG. 1) of the studs 14 to bend slightly with thenotch 26. The notches 26 have also been found to fit fourteen gaugestuds 14, with a tight fit. The tighter fit with heavier gauge studs isdesired as usually they are used to bear higher loads.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the sides of the angled notch 26 form angledshoulders in adjacent portions of the elongate member 30, one of whichforms an abutment 42 against which the web 18 of the stud 14 is urged,and the other of which forms a barb 44 which can bite into the web 18 ofthe stud 14 and about which the web 18 of the stud 14 may deform as theweb 18 is inserted into the notch 26. The angle and the width of theslot 38 cooperate to bind the web 18 of the stud 14 in the slot, atleast when subjected to loads that would tend to cause the elongatemember to become dislodged. The bind forces a portion of the web 18 tobend with the angle of the slot 38. However, generally neither the barb44 nor the abutment 42 move out of the plane of the planar portion ofthe elongate member 30.

Installation of the bridging/spacing member 16 causes the webs 18 of thestuds 14 to be urged against the abutments 42 to place the studs “oncenter” against the opposing wall of the slot, i.e., the barb 44 urgesthe web 18 against the abutment 42. The distance between the cuts thatform the abutments 42 can be controlled within tight tolerances and thistranslates to accurate spacing of the studs in a row thereof forming awall.

For example, in the United States, stud walls are generally constructedwith studs spaced on sixteen or twenty-four inch (about 40.6 cm to 61.0cm) centers. Therefore, a cut in the elongate member 30 will be made atsixteen or twenty-four inch (about 40.6 cm to 61.0 cm) intervals, thusensuring that the web to web spacing of the studs 14 will be sixteen ortwenty-four inches (about 40.6 cm to 61.0 cm).

As illustrated in FIG. 7, the stud bridging/spacing member 16 includesfour notches 26 a-26 d spaced at sixteen (about 40.6 cm) intervals, andone notch 26 e equally spaced between the two central notches 26 b and26 c. This particular arrangement of notches 26 creates a studbridging/spacing member 16 which can be used in metal stud walls 10(FIG. 1) which have a stud spacing of either sixteen or twenty-fourinches (about 40.6 cm to 61.0 cm). If the wall 10 is to have a studspacing of sixteen inches (about 40.6 cm), notches 26 a-26 d engage thewebs 18 of the studs 14 (see FIG. 1). If the wall 10 is to have a studspacing of twenty-four inches (about 61.0 cm), notches 26 a, 26 d, and26 e engage the webs 18 of the studs 14. Since the overall length of thestud bridging/spacing member 16 is about fifty inches (about 127 cm),this leaves about one inch (about 2.5 cm) outside the outermost notches.

An embodiment of the bridging/spacing member 16 having the slanted notch26 described above has been found to provide improved strength to themetal stud wall 10 (FIG. 1) under loads far in excess of those requiredby most building codes for load bearing walls. The present inventionprovides a bridging/spacing member that rigidly connects the studs in astud wall, unlike some prior spacing members which allow the framingsystem to flex in length to accommodate the attachment of wall panelswrapped in a heavy wall covering. In addition, unlike prior bridgingsystems, installation of the stud bridging/spacing member having theslanted notches does not require fasteners and yet resists deformationand turning of the studs under load. For example, under extreme lateralloading conditions, the bridging/spacing member of the present inventionhas been found to fail only by shearing through the webs of the studs atforces far higher than those at which other bridging systems failed bybreaking their fasteners. Accordingly, the bridging/spacing member 16can be quickly and easily installed, simultaneously spacing andreinforcing the metal studs in a stud wall.

An alternative stud bridging/spacing member 70 is shown in FIGS. 8 and9. In this embodiment, the stud bridging/spacing member 70 has a centralportion 72 similar to the V-shape of the stud bridging/spacing member 16described above (see FIG. 2), with a pair of laterally extending wingportions 74 extending outwardly from distal ends of the V-shape centralportion 72. The wing portions 74 extend a distance equal to aboutone-third of the width of the central portion 72. The wing portions 74extend in opposite directions in a common plane, however, the wingportions 74 may extend in different planes. The stud bridging/spacingmember 70 has at least three longitudinally spaced pairs of transverselyaligned notches 76 of the type described above. The notches may extendonly through the wing portions 74 or may also extend into the V-shapecentral portion 72.

The stud bridging/spacing member 70 can be installed in a stud wall 100in the same way as the stud bridging/spacing member 16 is installed inthe stud wall 10 in FIG. 1. The stud wall 100 includes a plurality ofstuds 114, each stud 114 having a web 118 and a pair of L-shape flanges120 perpendicular to the web 118, with at least one opening 122 in theweb 118. Unlike the opening 22 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the opening 122has a uniform width central portion and rounded end portions. This typeof opening 122 is more common in load bearing studs. Another type ofopening (not shown) is similar but has pointed ends. The studbridging/spacing member 70 is not limited to any form of opening,however.

The studs 114 are secured at their lower ends to the base track 112 byfastening means 124 in the same manner as described above with referenceto FIG. 1. The stud bridging/spacing member is inserted through theopenings 122 and the notches 76 are aligned with the webs 118 of thestuds 114. The bridging spacing member 70 may be rotated and is thenmoved down over the webs 118 of the studs 114 to engage the lower end ofthe central portion of the opening 122 as shown in FIG. 9. Additionalbridging/spacing members 70 overlap adjacent ends of precedingbridging/spacing members 70 as needed to provide continuous bridgingbetween all of the studs 114 in the wall 100. The upper ends of thestuds 114 may then be connected to a ceiling track (not shown) asrequired.

The addition of the wing portions 74 facilitates installation by makingit easier to “eyeball” the stud bridging/spacing member 70 to make sureit is level and thus firmly seated in each opening 122 in the webs 118of the studs 114. This feature helps to improve the speed and quality ofthe installation process. In addition, the wing portions 74 furtherrigidity the stud bridging/spacing member 70 against transverse loads onthe wall 100, which may be particularly advantageous, for example, inexternal walls in building locations subject to high wind loads.

The Applicant has found that the bridging system and method describedherein performs approximately as well as or better than several morelabor-intensive (and therefore generally more expensive) bridgingsystems under different types of loads. As a result, the system andmethod of the present invention provide approximately the samestructural strength, while the spacing function of the bridging/spacingmember helps to greatly reduce installation time, thereby providingsubstantial cost savings.

As shown in FIG. 10, the system and method of the present invention mayalso include a bar guard to minimize or prevent other buildingtradespeople from removing the bridging/spacing member 132 from theconduit opening 134 in the stud 136. The bar guard may include a screwdriven through the web 138 of the stud to prevent the bridging/spacingmember from being lifted out, or a metal plate, such as the illustratedplate 140, attached to the web of the stud above the bridging/spacingmember. The illustrated bar guard 140 has a notch at a lower end toclosely engage the top of the bridging/spacing member and a pair ofholes 142 near an upper edge for fastening the bar guard to the web ofthe stud with screws, although other methods of attaching the bar guardto the stud could be used. Since the bridging/spacing member spans atleast three studs, the bar guard does not have to be attached to everystud. Thus installation of the bridging/spacing member with the barguard does remains much quicker than conventional methods.

Although the invention has been shown and described with respect to acertain embodiment or embodiments, equivalent alterations andmodifications will occur to others skilled in the art upon reading andunderstanding this specification and the annexed drawings. In particularregard to the various functions performed by the above describedintegers (components, assemblies, devices, compositions, etc.), theterms (including a reference to a “means”) used to describe suchintegers are intended to correspond, unless otherwise indicated, to anyinteger which performs the specified function of the described integer(i.e., that is functionally equivalent), even though not structurallyequivalent to the disclosed structure which performs the function in theherein illustrated exemplary embodiment or embodiments of the invention.In addition, while a particular feature of the invention may have beendescribed above with respect to only one of several illustratedembodiments, such feature may be combined with one or more otherfeatures of the other embodiments, as may be desired and advantageousfor any given or particular application.

What is claimed is:
 1. A stud bridging/spacing member comprising: anelongate member having a V-shaped lateral cross-section formed bylongitudinally extending planar first and second portions joined atrespective longitudinal edges to form sides and a vertex of the V-shapethat defines a longitudinal axis; and at least three longitudinallyspaced apart notches in at least one of said longitudinally extendingplanar first and second portions for receiving and engaging therein aweb of a metal stud, each notch extending inwardly at an acute anglerelative to an axis that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis ofthe elongate member.
 2. The stud bridging/spacing member of claim 1,wherein the elongate member includes a fourth notch equally spacedbetween at least two of the at least three notches.
 3. The studbridging/spacing member of claim 1, wherein each of the at least threenotches in one portion of the elongate member are laterally aligned witha corresponding notch in another portion of the elongate member.
 4. Thestud bridging/spacing member of claim 3 wherein the laterally alignednotches incline in a same direction.
 5. The stud bridging/spacing memberof claim 1, wherein the notches extend inwardly at an angle of aboutfive and a half degrees to about eight degrees relative to the axis thatis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.
 6. The stud bridging/spacingmember of claim 1, wherein the notches extend inwardly at an angle ofabout seven degrees.
 7. The stud bridging/spacing member of claim 1,wherein the notches incline in the same direction.
 8. The studbridging/spacing member of claim 1, wherein the notches have a width ofabout 0.065 inch (about 0.16 cm) to about 0.080 inch (about 0.20 cm). 9.The stud bridging/spacing member of claim 1, wherein the notches have awidth of about 0.080 inch (about 0.20 cm).
 10. The stud bridging/spacingmember of claim 1, wherein each said notch has parallel sides.
 11. Thestud bridging/spacing member of claim 1, wherein the elongate member isformed in a thickness selected from the group of fourteen, sixteen andeighteen gauge metal.
 12. A metal stud wall comprising: at least threemetal studs each having at least two flanges interconnected by a web,the web of each stud having an opening and the studs being arranged in arow with the openings in the webs thereof aligned with one another; andat least one elongate member as set forth in claim 1 extending throughthe openings of the at least three studs, the at least threelongitudinally spaced apart notches engaging the webs of the studs. 13.The metal stud wall of claim 12, wherein the notches are equallylongitudinally spaced apart at a predetermined web to web spacing of thestuds.
 14. The metal stud wall of claim 12, wherein the web to webspacing is sixteen inches (about 40.6 cm).
 15. The metal stud wall ofclaim 12, wherein the web to web spacing is twenty-four inches (about61.0 cm).
 16. The metal stud wall of claim 12, wherein the notchesextend inwardly at an angle of about five and a half degrees to abouteight degrees relative to an axis that is perpendicular to thelongitudinal axis of the elongate member.
 17. The metal stud wall ofclaim 12, wherein the notches extend inwardly at an angle of about sevendegrees.
 18. The metal stud wall of claim 12, wherein the notches have awidth of about 0.065 inch (about 0.16 cm) to about 0.080 inch (about0.20 cm).
 19. The metal stud wall of claim 12, wherein the notches havea width of about 0.080 inch (about 0.20 cm).
 20. The metal stud wall ofclaim 12, wherein the at least one elongate member includes a secondelongate member as set forth in claim 1, the second elongate memberextending through the opening of one of the studs through which the oneelongate member extends and through the openings in the webs of at leasttwo further studs, the notches of the second elongate member engagingrespective webs of each of the studs through which it passes.
 21. Amethod of spacing and reinforcing a plurality of spaced apart metalstuds in a stud wall, comprising fastening a lower end of each stud to abase track, inserting a stud bridging/spacing member as set forth inclaim 1 through aligned openings in at least three metal studs, andengaging longitudinally spaced apart notches in the studbridging/spacing member with respective webs of the metal studs, therebyestablishing and maintaining a fixed spacing between the metal studs andreinforcing the studs against deflection and turning under loading. 22.The method of claim 21, further comprising securing a top end of each ofthe studs to a ceiling track.
 23. The method of claim 21, whereinengaging includes causing a portion of the webs of the studs to bend inthe direction of the inclines of the notches to retain the web in theengaged notch.
 24. A stud bringing/spacing member comprising: anelongate member having a first planar portion defining a first plane anda second planar portion defining a second plane that is not co-planarwith said first plane, said elongate member having a longitudinal axis;and at least three longitudinally spaced apart notches in at least oneof said longitudinally extending planar first and second planarportions, each notch extending inwardly at an acute angle relative to acorresponding axis that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of theelongate member.
 25. The stud bridging/spacing member of claim 24,wherein the elongate member includes a fourth notch equally spacedbetween at least two of the at least three notches.
 26. The studbridging/spacing member of claim 24, wherein each of the at least threenotches in one portion of the elongate member are laterally aligned witha corresponding notch in another portion of the elongate member.
 27. Thestud bridging/spacing member of claim 26, wherein the laterally alignednotches incline in the same direction.
 28. The stud bridging/spacingmember of claim 24, wherein the notches extend inwardly at an angle ofabout five and a half degrees to about eight degrees relative to theaxis that is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.
 29. The studbridging/spacing member of claim 27, wherein the notches extend inwardlyat an angle of about seven degrees.
 30. The stud bridging/spacing memberof claim 24, wherein the notches incline in the same direction.
 31. Thestud bridging/spacing member of claim 24, wherein the notches have awidth of about 0.065 inch (about 0.16 cm) to about 0.080 inch (about0.20 cm).
 32. The stud bridging/spacing member of claim 24, wherein thenotches have a width of about 0.080 inch (about 0.20 cm).
 33. The studbridging/spacing member of claim 24, wherein the sides of the notchesare parallel.
 34. The stud bridging/spacing member of claim 24, whereinthe elongate member is formed in a thickness selected from the group offourteen, sixteen or eighteen gauge metal.
 35. A metal stud wallcomprising: at least three metal studs each having at least two flangesinterconnected by a web, the web of each stud having an opening and thestuds being arranged in a row with the openings in the webs thereofaligned with one another; and at least one elongate member as set forthin claim 24 extending through the openings of the at least three studs,the at least three longitudinally spaced apart notches engaging the websof the studs.
 36. The method of claim 34, further comprising securing atop end of each of the studs to a ceiling track.
 37. The method of claim34, wherein engaging includes causing a portion of the webs of the studsto bend in the direction of the inclines of the notches to retain theweb in the engaged notch.